Over the past quarter, Abilene rents rose. This three-month trend began in April for both rent per square foot and total rent. Between May to June, a $100 increase in rent was realized for an average-sized home.

In part, this increase is explained by two factors: the average home leased in June 2015 was 180 square feet larger and 6 years newer than homes leased in May 2015. Still, rents per square foot saw a 3¢ gain from the prior month and a 4¢ increase above the prior 12-month average.

This overview utilizes NTREIS data on leased properties in Abilene, Texas. This data provides 13 months of data spanning June 2014 to June 2015, allowing the user to look across these months at changes in rental prices, days on market and inventory available town wide, both by school district and by zip code. The percentage changes calculated in this table compare the current month’s statistics to an average of the last 12-months and the data from the same month in the 2014.

When analyzed by zip code, rents in 79601, 79603 and 79605 rose relative to their 12-month average, but fell against rates in the previous month. Rents in 79602 and 79606 remained flat relative to rates in May 2015 and the 12-month average. With homes in 79602 and 79606 feeding the Wylie ISD, per square foot rental rates in this school district remained steady at 86¢/sf when compared to the 12-month average and fell 4¢ when compared to May 2015.

The rent/sf margin between Wylie ISD and Abilene ISD decreased when compared to the prior month’s margin. Rents between the two districts were 20¢/sf apart in May 2015 and this gap fell to 14¢/sf in June 2015. It is important to recognize that in June, Abilene ISD rentals had an average age of 51 years while Wylie ISD rentals had an average age of 18 years that contributed to the difference in rents between these districts.

Since January, homes leased in 79601 have realized a steady decline in days on the market, renting in 14 days in June 2015 or 34 days faster than 79601 homes leased in January 2015. This is part of a larger trend; single-family lease properties across Abilene have spent less time on the market since February 2015. When evaluated by school district, homes in both Wylie ISD and Abilene ISD rented at roughly the same pace as the prior month, but Wylie ISD homes rented five days quicker than homes in Abilene ISD.

According to NTREIS, 97 single family homes were leased in June 2015 which is identical to units rented in June 2014. With 97 units leased at, on average, 76¢/sf and sized at 1,487 square feet, these leases are estimated to deliver a June 2015 value of $109,622 to the Abilene economy. Considering the coming 12 months and the leases executed during May 2015, these leases potentially account for a $1,315,460 annual contribution to Abilene’s economy.